Crush

This story is about a girl who lost her self-respect, for someone she thought she had to impress. It takes place on a hot summer's day, when she was painting the cupboards on her kitchen wall. The narrator talks about how she was thinking about a guy named Allen whom she really liked. Allen however, happened to be married and had two kids. Due to the summer heat, she takes of her blouse and continues painting; as she does this her mother walks into the room and orders her to put her blouse back on because Allen was soon to arrive with the bread.. She ignored her mother's comment and continues painting; her mother gives her one last warning and steps out of the house to get groceries. As her mother leaves she thinks of a plan, to get Allen to like her the way she liked him. She starts taking off most of her clothing and continues painting, as she does this Allen opens the door to bring in the bread. He suddenly sees her, and walks out as soon as possible with the bread shocked in what he had seen. Disappointed in his reaction, the girl becomes upset and puts her clothes back on herself. She doesn't realize the value of self-respect and embarrasses herself in front of the man that she really cared about. After the scene was over, her mom walks in and finds her daughter buttoning up her shirt and questions her. She then figured out what had happened and explained how it’s wrong to like someone that’s married with kids. Also how a girl should value, herself for one man when she is older to understand love and the consequences of it. After the mother talks to her daughter she runs out past the gas station and thinks about what she had done and how little careless things, can change a lot of serious things.

A Joke

The story takes place on a winter afternoon, where a couple decides to go tobogganing. It starts off with the narrator Nadia telling the reader about how scary it was going down the hill with the cold wind hitting their faces. As the story goes on, it gets into more detail, about how Nadia wants to tell her boyfriend she loves him for the first time. She cannot seem to get the words out every time she finds a perfect opportunity. One day as they go down the hill, for the second time. She whispers the three words and hopes for the best; her boyfriend does not realize the seriousness or the value of the three words and ignores it pretending he never heard them. Not wanting to make things awkward, the narrator does not say anything and things go on as usual. Unfortunately, curiosity makes Nadia think about what she had said, and if her boyfriend actually heard them. Not knowing what to do, she invites him to go tobogganing on a weekend. As they go down the same hill, her boyfriend whispers the same words to her. After hearing the three words she ever so longed to hear, she jumps off the sled and walks towards him. He then told her that he just wanted to see how long she would have gone without saying anything. She laughs and realizes how much her boyfriend truly cares for her. Years go by and Nadia gets married to someone else and has three kids of her own, but to this day she remembers that one winters’ afternoon where she uttered the three words.

To Set Our House In Order

This story is about a little girl named Vanessa, who has been hoping for a younger sibling for many years. Each time her mother becomes pregnant she hopes for the best, but unfortunately the past few times she thought she could have a baby sister or brother. Complications in the pregnancy caused the mother to have a miscarriage and loose the baby. So when she found out her mother was having a baby boy; she didn't get her hopes up just so she doesn't get disappointed again. One night, Vanessa wakes up to the cries of her mother in pain she suddenly jumps out of bed and runs to her parents room to find out what was going on. She finds her grandmother yelling at her father as he tries to help her mother. He then finally rushes her mother to the hospital. As Vanessa sees all the commotion she starts getting worried and asks her grandmother what was happening and her grandmother replies saying that the baby was just coming early that’s all. The next day Vanessa finds her father in the den reading some old books, she approaches him and asks about her mother, he tells her that the tube got twisted around the baby's neck and he might come early. Vanessa tries to tolerate her grandmother who happens to be overly strict and has high expectations for her in everything. Each day her grandmother finds Vanessa doing something wrong no matter how hard she tries not to disappoint her grandmother. After a couple of days she learns, that her grandmother isn't that bad after all and she only wants what’s best for Vanessa. Days go by and her mother finally comes home with her baby brother and Vanessa finally got her wish. Her grandmother suggested the name Rodney after her late uncle, Vanessa learned that good things come to those who wait.

A Handful of Dates

“A Handful of Dates” is a short story about a young Muslim boy who has a great deal of respect and love for his grandfather. The young boy always talks about his grandfather, about what a great man he is and how much of an idol he is to him. But, when he starts asking his grandfather about their neighbour Masood he starts to think very differently of his grandfather. All the land he thought belonged to his grandfather since the world was created did not actually belong to his grandfather for very long at all. He asked his grandfather why Masood had sold his land and his grandfather had told him that it was because of his women and that soon before Allah decides to take Masood’s soul the last third of the land will belong to him too. The young boy remembered the three wives that Masood had and had started to really think about what his grandfather had just told him. While they were talking Masood was walking over. Masood told the grandfather that they were harvesting the dates that day and asked him if he wanted to be there. When they went to harvest the dates Masood had been doing all the work while the young boy’s grandfather just slept. After they had collected the dates the men divided the sacks of dates amongst themselves, but Masood had not taken any. The boy’s grandfather had taken five sacks and then told Masood that he still owed him fifty pounds. The young boy felt very ashamed of his grandfather, the man that he had always looked up to and admired. He had run up ahead of his grandfather and he started too built up feelings of hatred towards his grandfather for the things he had done to Masood. To get rid of the secret that he was hiding within himself he decided to put his finger in his throat and throw up all the dates that he had eaten.

The Interlopers

This story is about the hatred and rivalry between two main characters. These characters go by the names of Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym. The two characters have been enemies since birth, because their grandfathers feuded over a piece of forestland in between both their lands. One evening both characters tries to hunt the other down. They meet face to face separated from their men, alone and before neither of them can act, a bolt of lightning strikes a tree and it falls over both men. Since they were both injured they couldn't do anything, but their hatred filled minds still controls them and they argue with each other in whose men will come first to the rescue. Ulrich then attempts and takes his wine flask out of his coat pocket and drinks wine and, he started to feel bad and offered Georg some as well but Georg refuses and tells him he doesn't drink with his enemies. After a while Ulrich asks Georg to bury their ridiculous quarrel and asks for his friendship. Georg agrees after a long thought and they both join their voices and scream for help; hoping their men will hear their voices. Suddenly, they see figures coming through the woods; hoping it’s their men they both get anxious unfortunately they realize it’s just a pack of wolves.

That Was No Lady

This story regards a vacation a police officer and his buddy took to a lodge located Up North. They start of their day canoeing and catching fish. As they paddle a great distance away from their lodge, they come across an aged, torn apart cottage. A dancing young, blonde, slim and completely nude woman on the balcony attracts their attention. In reaction, they paddle closer to the deck leading to the cottage. Getting ready to reel in, they spot an older man coming their way. The two men thought it would be a neighbourly thing to do if they stopped by for a hello. The men greet each other; then start off with a conversation concerning the fishing in the area. However, the old man happens to notices the continuous glances the men make at the balcony. The older man confronts them, and claims that the women they've been glancing at do not exist. He tells the two visitors, that she’s a ghost who has been haunting him for the last 9 years. As the two men do not believe in this scenario, the older man takes them to the balcony for their own proof. Once the reach the upper level, they find an empty space of rotted floors and fallen plaster from the walls. After no sight of the naked woman, the two men in shock insist they leave and head home. Later on, as the men don’t feel safe at the lodge alone decide to have dinner out. At the restaurant, they come across a man, appearing to be around the same age as the previous older man and start a conversation. The two men couldn’t help but to unleash what they have possibly just seen and ask the man if he has seen her as well. The man states that he surely has, and starts telling the story behind her. The man goes on telling them how the woman was the older man’s wife, in which she has been haunting him for several years. Concluding his story, about how the poor guy couldn’t stand anymore of the torture and not even a year later, the husband had hung himself in the room leading to the balcony. This resolves the men to sum up that they have seen one ghost, and talked to another.